Straight Allies Join Gay Causes

EDGEBoston.com – by Michael K. Lavers – EDGE Boston Contributor

The decision to become a full-time activist was easy for Alex Shoor to make. The southern media field strategist for the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation joined the media watchdog in September 2005 after graduating from Nashville?s Vanderbilt University. Describing gay rights as “one of the major social movements” of his generation, he wanted to be a part of history in the making.

“As a progressive striving for a more just America, I cannot stand by and watch clearly discriminatory laws and practices perpetuated against LGBT Americans,” Shoor told EDGE in a recent interview from GLAAD?s New York offices. “I just felt a calling to be part of the movement for LGBT equality.”

Ordinarily, someone taking a job at a gay advocacy organization would hardly rank as worthy of note. But Shoor has a quality that makes him stand out from the pack.

Alex Shoor is a heterosexual.